I saw this movie and my feelings are that it was enjoyable. I haven't read the book, unfortunately, but my interest has certainly been sparked.

Beyond that, I think it could have used more giant birds rescuing everybody always and less lack of giant birds in nearly every other part of the movie except for the parts with giant birds.

I'm not saying that I didn't enjoy the parts without them. I'm only suggesting that this movie would have been considerably more emotionally fulfilling and personally resonant had all the characters been giant birds instead of only some of them being so.

« Last Edit: December 28, 2012, 09:36:00 pm by sgore »

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What meme is relevant right now? Look, just imagine I'm riffing on that. Updating signatures is exhausting.

The thing with the Eagles is the same sort of thing people complain about in Lord of the Rings. If you want the simple answer, Gwaihir the Windlord (greatest of the Great Eagles during the Third Age) doesn't want to get roped into things that don't concern him and his kind. That said, Gandalf is a dear friend and is able to encourage his help on a few occasions. One of those favors is called in during The Hobbit, though according to the canon Gwaihir is not part of the group that rescues Thorin and Co.

And just to keep some of you clever people out there from saying silly things... no, the Eagles would not have flown the group to the Lonely Mountain. It is not their business and they were only helping out as a favor to Gandalf. Moreover, NO NO NO they would not have flown Frodo to Mt. Doom to dispose of the ring. That would be nuts. The Nazgul can be considered equals in terms of flight and combat prowess. And as soon as the Ring crossed over into Mordor, Sauron would have detected them. The Eagles are out of place in Mordor and very easy to see. The task required secrecy and with the Nazgul patrolling Middle Earth the Eagles would have been spotted well-before making it anywhere near Mordor.

Because they aren't going to tussle in any way, shape, or form with a dragon. Smaug is the most powerful dragon in the Third Age. In fact, Gandalf's entire mission is to get Thorin and Co. to deal with the dragon because he is worried that Sauron could form an alliance with it. Together they would become nearly unstoppable and it would have thrown his entire plan out of whack. Combined with his suspicions concerning Saruman and his seemingly intentional desire to drag his feet in any and all matters concerning Sauron/Necromancer and it is clear why the Eagles want no part of the larger goal of Thorin's quest and why Gandalf would not try to impose it upon them.